Community Historians and Academics Establish Wangunk Studies Working Group

Community Historians and Academics Establish Wangunk Studies Working Group

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Middletown CT, 24 July 2024 – a group of independent community historians and academic scholars met at Russell Library to form a Wangunk Studies Working Group, a body of individuals working together to focus on research and scholarship about the Wangunk, the Native people indigenous to a large portion of central Connecticut. Founding convenor J. Kēhaulani Kauanui approached Wangunk elder Gary Red Oak O’Neil with the idea of forming a group that could serve as a network to share research-related resources,…

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Connecticut Explored Names a New Publisher

Connecticut Explored Names a New Publisher

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Media Contact: Jennifer LaRue, jglaruehere@gmail.com June 4, 2022: The Board of Connecticut Explored Inc. has announced the appointment of Dr. Katherine A. Hermes as the organization’s new Executive Director and Publisher. (Dr. Hermes is also the editor of Digital Farmington.) Hermes will assume the newly created role, which includes serving as the organization’s first formal Executive Director in addition to being its Publisher, on July 5. She succeeds Founding Publisher Elizabeth J. Normen, who is retiring from the post she created after…

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David K. Leff
In Memoriam – David K. Leff (1955 – 2022)

In Memoriam – David K. Leff (1955 – 2022)

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Author: Janet M. Conner, Historian Laureate, Avon Land Trust ___ I met David Leff several years ago when he and his wife attended a presentation I was giving.  I had previously asked him if I could use some quotations from his writing in my talk.  He was very kind to say yes, and I was honored he took time from his busy life to attend.  Busy life is an understatement as David’s resume is nothing short of impressive.  He resided in Collinsville, Connecticut and…

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Will of Peter Tusco
A Brief Bio of Peter Tusco, a “Spanish Indian” of Southington

A Brief Bio of Peter Tusco, a “Spanish Indian” of Southington

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AUTHOR: Katherine Hermes Peter Tusco died in Southington, Connecticut in 1767 and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. His origins are not known, but in the probate records, he is identified as a Spanish Indian. He was probably an indigenous person from someplace in the Spanish territories, such as Florida. New England colonists considered Spanish Indians lawful captives under the presumption that they had been enslaved under the laws of New Spain. The desire for captive labor motivated colonial wars…

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Hartford Ancient Burying Ground headstones
A Research Note: The Epidemic of 1724

A Research Note: The Epidemic of 1724

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AUTHOR: KATHERINE HERMES On November 5, 1724, an epidemic broke out in Hartford, Connecticut, lasting until February 1, 1725. The sickness killed rich and poor alike. Among the 54 persons who died, it took 27 white men and 19 white women. It took 8 non-whites: two Native men named Peter, three unnamed Indians of unknown sex, and three men of African descent, York, Midway, and Ben. One of the women who died was Mrs. Mary Whiting, the wife of Col….

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Emigration of free blacks from Farmington to Liberia
Farmington, Connecticut, the Colonization Society, and African American Periodicals

Farmington, Connecticut, the Colonization Society, and African American Periodicals

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Phebe Janes lived in Farmington, the wife of Elijah Janes (1758-1823), whom she married in 1791. She was the daughter of Fisher Gay (1735-1776) and Phebe Lewis (1735-1772). She was admitted to the church on Oct. 22, 1837, from Lansingborough, NY. She died at the age of 83 on Jan. 8, 1850. (Connecticut, U.S., Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920 gives her age as 83.) (US Census, 1840 gives her birth year as 1767.) She was also a benefactor of the American Colonization Society. Phebe Janes left a…

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Thomas Hart's will
“According to the writing:” Richard Negro of Farmington

“According to the writing:” Richard Negro of Farmington

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  Author: Lisa Johnson  Richard Negro was a captive Black man who lived and worked in Farmington during the early years of the 18th century. Richard may have been typical of many enslaved people who resisted their captivities and actively worked for their own emancipation.   Richard, also known as Dick, was owned by Thomas Hart and his son Josiah, both residents of the village of Farmington. His birth date and origin are unknown. The first record of him in 1714 describes…

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Paul Kramer
The Inquiring Mind of Paul Kramer

The Inquiring Mind of Paul Kramer

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A Tribute to Paul Kramer, by Betty Coykendall, delivered at the Stanley-Whitman House Spring Symposium on June 1, 2019 We meet today to do two things –    to try to enlighten all of you a bit about some regional history, and    to pay tribute to Paul Kramer, who in the last decade of his life, added             immeasurably to our knowledge of that local heritage. Paul Kramer’s inquiring mind led him to investigate in depth such diverse topics as early medicine,…

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Avon Congregational Church
An Influential Citizen and The Avon Congregational Church

An Influential Citizen and The Avon Congregational Church

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Author: Janet M. Conner, Researcher, Avon Historical Society Early Northington resident Joel Wheeler was a civic-minded individual.  Joel was born about 1754 to William and Abigail Fost Wheeler.  He moved to town in the late 1700s and began buying property in the town center known as East Avon. Land ownership correlated to status, wealth, and standing within the community, as well as within the Church.   In 1795, he had acquired about 100 acres of land and a house at 26 Main Street,…

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Free in Farmington: The Stories of Two Men Named Frank

Free in Farmington: The Stories of Two Men Named Frank

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Author: Tavvia Jefferson The history books are mostly silent about two free black men named Frank who lived in colonial Farmington. Christopher Bickford’s town history, Farmington in Connecticut, omits them entirely. Barbara Donahue’s book, Speaking for Ourselves: African American Life in Farmington, Connecticut is one of the few books to mention the men. There are no records documenting the dates of the births of either Frank, but there are probate records that provide glimpses into their lives.  In the probate records from 1698 and…

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